What Is Strategy?

What is strategy?

Strategy is a term that has been defined multiple different ways by multiple different theorists. It is a hard term to define. There is surprisingly little agreement on what strategy actually is or how to define it (Markides, 1999). This lack of definition and perhaps more importantly how to formulate a strategy leads to the question ‘what is strategy?’

Johnson (1992) helps to understand some historical perspectives on strategy from a military background. Books like The Art of War by Sun Tzu are extremely famous as they helped academics to begin their understanding of strategy. Mckiernan (1997) observes that strategic decisions fit between internal factors (CSR and ambitions of company) and external factors (market pressures and demand).

One of the most influential writers in the field has tried to incorporate all of the various different stances on strategy, such as emergent, inside out and outside in view. Mintzberg (1987) proposed his 5ps model. The 5 Ps stand for Plan, Ploy, Perspective, Pattern and Position. The plan is the basis around a strategy. It can involve SWOT analysis to tell the company the various strengths and weaknesses of a particular decision. It could be an organisation diversifying or expanding. Mitzberg describes the similarities between a boy trying to get over a fence and a corporation’s strategy to capture the market. It could also either be a realised or emergent strategy depending on the original strategy planned strategy. Sometimes a company’s strategies do not actually work and they have to adapt to the pressures of various forces. Ploy is the second P. This P is a part of an organisation’s strategy to put off competitors. It may involve expanding in order to put off new entrants, a manoeuvre in order to outsmart competitors.

Perspective is the effective culture of an organisation. It looks inside the organisation and their view on the world. Some companies have a marketing outlook (IBM), an engineering ideology...